Obama’s former green jobs czar, Van Jones, launched a campaign in New York on Thursday called Rebuild the Dream. I’m watching video of the inaugural event now, and I’m torn. On one hand, I appreciate the thought behind it, and very much like the idea of a progressive, reality-based equivalent to the conservative Tea Party movement. And I appreciate the considerable work that he’s already done behind the scenes. (Jones has, among other things, been able to garner not only the approval, but the active involvement of groups like the AFL-CIO, TrueMajority, USAction, and MoveOn.) But, on the other hand, something just strikes me as phony about the whole thing. Maybe it’s the infomercial feel of this first big public announcement. Jones, who I admittedly have not had a great deal of experience with, comes across as more of a self-help guru than a man who’s truly concerned about the steadily eroding American dream. But, maybe that’s what you need to build a movement that extends beyond just viewers of the Daily Show, and farther into middle America. Maybe you need a certain degree of showmanship, a live band, cameras shooting from multiple angles, and well-rehersed comments made to sound as though they’re off-the-cuff. Like I said, though – maybe I’d be more willing to give him the benefit of the doubt if I knew anything substantive about him. (All I know is that he was forced out of the Obama White House by conservatives who painted him as an America-hating Marxist who thought that the Bush administration deliberately allowed the 9/11 attacks to occur.) I guess, if I had to sum up my criticism, I’d say that the message seemed right, but that the whole thing was just too choreographed. But, I’d encourage you to watch for yourself and make up your own mind. (The interface for the video sucks, by the way, so watching isn’t easy. Among other things, there’s no way to jump forward, which probably accounts for a lot of my negativity.)
Here, by way of background, are a few comments made by Jones in a recent interview with Rolling Stone.
….What’s the big idea behind “Rebuild America?”We see a huge disconnect between what the political elite is talking about in Washington, D.C. – now in both parties – and what ordinary Americans are talking about in barber shops, nail salons, bowling alleys, and houses of worship. There is much, much more concern about jobs, and much more openness to solving the budget crisis by more balanced means – including raising taxes on rich folks – than D.C. seems to understand.
The American Dream itself is being killed off in America. Just this basic idea that ordinary people should be able to find a job, keep a job, keep a home and give their kid a better life. I’m talking about the young veterans who are coming home, to no job and no hope. When they were overseas in somebody else’s country on the military battleground, these young people got a lot of support. They get back home, they get dumped off into an economic battleground with no support.
They’re part of a larger cohort of young people in America, many of whom who are graduating off of a cliff into the worst economy since World War II. There’s an incredible youth unemployment, crisis, where even kids who want to work and have an education wind up stuck as interns, for two years, three years, four years – never becoming the young professional that they expected. Those young people need a movement to rebuild the “American dream.”
You have the people who are being thrown out of their homes by America’s banks, or the people who are staying in their homes but they’re underwater on their mortgages and desperately need the banks to renegotiate – cut the principal or cut the rate – and the banks just ain’t up on it.
To other groups – the so-called “ninety-niners” – the long-term unemployed in our country who are finding out just because they lost a job, just because they’re forty years-old or fifty years-old, that they may never get a job again. Our most skilled workers. They should be in the prime of their careers. They are in need of a movement to rebuild the “American dream.”
And then lastly, most visibly, America’s cops, teachers, firefighters, nurses. These are the backbone of America, the heart and soul of our community, who are being thrown under the bus. We’re talking about massive, massive, constituencies of economic casualties in our country that D.C. isn’t even talking about. And, we think that a movement that brought their voices forward would make a tremendous difference. It could change the discussion in the same way that the Tea Party movement changed the discussion.
What gives you confidence that you can turn this into the Left’s version of the Tea Party?
The fight back is already happening. This movement for a more sane approach to American problems is already twice as big as the Tea Party movement right now. The Tea Party movement shocked the world because they had 150,000 people who came to Washington D.C. in September 2009. We had 150,000 people on the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, fighting for the American dream. A massive protest in Ohio. Young people fighting against tuition hikes all across the country. People running into these town hall meetings screaming about the Ryan Budget and Medicare.
The genius of the Tea Party was that it took, frankly, a bunch of very small groups a bunch of corporate cash and presented something under a single banner, that the media could then relate to, and Fox News could then report on as a solid, singular phenomenon.
We’re united by a passion to do something about what’s happening in the economy, and to not let a bad situation be made worse. The private sector already imposed an austerity program on the American people – that was the crash. We don’t need a public austerity program on top of a private austerity program. We think that’s reckless and foolish. It’s all cuts and no revenue. But there has not yet been a voice from the American people making that point, and we want to help to make that point, through the American Dream movement…
Again, I don’t mean to imply that this isn’t a worthwhile endeavor, or that it can’t evolve into something great and meaningful. We certainly need more people talking about these issues passionately, and trying to build consensus around solutions. And, as it wasn’t happening fast enough on its own, maybe a catalyst like this was necessary. The whole thing just left me a little dubious. I felt as though I was being sold something. I’m certainly willing to give them another chance, though. And, it looks as though I’ll have opportunities. According to Jones, the Rebuild the Dream team will be very active over the next several months, beginning on July 5, when they’ll start collecting ideas on ways to get America back on the right track. And, once those ideas are submitted, live meetings will take place across the country, during which individuals will have an opportunity to voice their opinions as to which ideas are the most promising. Those would then, according to Jones, make their way into what he’s calling The Contract for the American Dream, which would be delivered to our elected officials at the end of an enormous rally in DC, or something along those lines… And, like I said, I think all of that is great, if he can pull it off.
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For those of you who don’t want to sit though the musical number by The Roots, there’s now a YouTube highlight reel.
um, how about we just start by repealing w’s wacky tax cuts?
Maybe he’s on the right track. Maybe this is the way to introduce a populist movement in 2011. It may not be something that resonates with everyone, especially those who have been paying attention these past several years, but it might be what’s called for in the dumbed down world where Fox News reigns supreme.
I’m curious as to how this is being funded. Are the unions, MoveOn, and the others contributing, or does Van Jones have a sugar daddy, like George Soros, behind the scenes?
Van Jones is one of my heros, and an inspiration to me. He was the head of Green for All for quite a while, which was one of the first organizations to really effectively link the need for green jobs to the need for jobs in low income areas. I’ve gone out of my way to hear him speak because he speaks with such honesty and passion – somehow he manages to walk the line between ‘angry because we should all be’ and compassionate. I’m not sure who is funding this, but I know I’d give money to just about anything he’s involved in. Ok, I’ll stop now, but let me know if you’d like me to write more about the 238 ways in which Van Jones is awesome. :)
Besides, how could you not like a guy who gives a talk called ‘The economic injustice of plastic’ on TED talks?
http://www.yesmagazine.org/peace-justice/the-economic-injustice-of-plastic
A challenge of organizing the left is there are a lot of people on the left who are predisposed to resist and question mass movements. Who funds it? What is this “really” about? Will it work? Here is a short list of 500 reasons it may fail. Question authority types. Conscientious objectors to group think. (I’d ask everyone who fits this description to raise their hands, but we resist being told to raise our hands like sheep.)
I’m not sure Van Jones is trying to reach the above. I think he may be trying to reach people who are more comfortable with movements where their gut inclinations are affirmed by others. People who buy things on QVC .
My inclination is to “wait and see.” Study and evaluate before guardedly half committing. But I’m not sure that’s how populist movements are made. And I’m not sure my perpetual resistance and skepticism helps me make better choices than impulse shoppers.
Like I said, I haven’t really followed his career. If I had, maybe I wouldn’t have had that reaction. At any rate, I’m glad to hear that you approve of his work, Lisa. Your recommendation goes a long way with me… And thanks for saying what I tried to say, only better, JP. I appreciate it.
MoveOn is helping to coordinate the house parties. I received the following last night.
A letter from Van Jones, though MoveOn.
You can RSVP here for the Ypsi meetup.
http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/event.html?event_id=116575
Truthout has a good interview with Van Jones on what he’s now calling an economic justice movement.
http://www.truth-out.org/what-it-will-take-rebuild-american-dream-exclusive-interview-van-jones/1310045313
There’s going to be a Rebuild the American Dream “Jobs not Cuts” gathering in Ypsi, at noon on Wednesday. So, if you don’t have to be at a job, drop by. The following notice is from MoveOn.
Has Van Jones put in an appearance yet at Occupy Wall Street?
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